Finger knife and pencil



June 27, 1961 A. N. FLORENCE FINGER KNIFE AND PENCIL Filed Azig. 28,19s? INVENTOR. Albert N. Florence ZZJJ M ATTORNEY 2,989,807 FINGER KNIFEAND PENCIL Albert N. Florence, 3694 Broadway, New York, N.Y.

Filed Aug. 28, 1957, Ser. No. 680,698 1 Claim. (Cl. 30-451) Thisinvention relates to a finger knife'and pencil.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a pencilwhich can be fitted and. carried upon the finger of the hand so asto'leave the hand free for other use whereby the pencil point can beavailable and ready for immediate use.

It is another object of the invention to provide a finger pencil adaptedfor useby shipping clerks.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a finger pencilin which the sleeve that supports the pencil that is adapted to beplaced over the finger has sufficient gripping action upon the finger sothat the finger upon being fully inserted therein can hold abiasedretractable pencil point in its extended and use position from theforward end thereof but is retractable for protection of the point whenthe pencil is removed from the finger.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a finger pencilformed of a flexible sleeve which as well as having the pencil thereonalso has a cutting blade that can be brought into a cutting position bymerely curling the finger and which is automatically retractable uponstraightening the finger to the Writing position.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a fingerpencil, having the above objects in mind, which is of simpleconstruction, inexpensive to manufacture, of pleasing appearance, lightin weight, efficient and automatic in use.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the pencil accordingto one form of the invention with the pencil point extended and beingput to use to write upon a package,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the finger pencil flexed by the fingerto extend the cutting blade and the blade being applied to a cord tosever it,

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the finger pencil with illustrationmade in dash lines as to the manner in which the cutting blade isextended,

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pencil showing the fingerengaging with the retractable pencil point to extend it,

FIG. 5 is a similar longitudinal sectional view with the finger removedfrom the pencil point and the pencil point retracted,

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a modified form of the invention withportions broken away to show theinterior construction thereof,

FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the finger extended into thefinger pencil and depressing the pencil point for use, and

FIG. 10 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 to 6, 10 generally represents thefinger pencil and sleeve of flexible material such as rubber, open atthe rear end and adapted to receive the forefinger of a hand andsufliciently long to cover the two knuckles thereof and suflicientlyflexible to permit the curling of the finger. On the outer end of thesleeve is an integral solid ringformation that serves as an eraser. Thiserasing formation'also serves as a guard to give some protectionto theretractable pencil device ice Patented June 27, p 1 961 12 which isforced outwardly through the end of the sleeve and erasure formation 11.The pencil device has a point 13 and a pressure plate 14 that is engagedby the end of the forefinger when the sleeve is placed thereover I videda handy finger pencilin which the pencil point is. 1"

to extend the pencil device from the endof the sleeve against'the actionof compression or return springl5,

from a retracted position shown in FIG. 5 to a position shown in FIG. 4and over aholding shoulder 14'. The friction or tightness of the sleeveupon the finger is 'sufficient to maintain the sleeve upon the fingereven against the action of the spring l5 but'theshoulder wi11 relievethe sleeve of some ofthe tightness or friction necessary to hold iton'the finger. The sleeve is preferably of elastic rubber material sothat it is not removable therefrom except by pulling or skinningit"fr'om the finger. As the sleeve 10 is flexed by the finger, it willaccumulate under the second knuckle as indicated at 16. A full flexingof the sleeve when the finger is fully extended thereinto will cause aportion 17 on the top of the portions 19 and 20 so that it can beextended in the man-' ner shown in FIG. 2 to effect the cutting in themanner illustrated of a tie cord T that may surround a package P ofFIG. 1. blade will automatically fall back into the space between theguard portions 19 and 20. Thus, it will be seen that not only can thepencil be used for writing, erasing but also forv cutting, so as tothereby render it particularly adapted for use in shipping departmentsor stores where the user is continually wrapping, tieing and addressingparcels. 1

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 7 to 10, showing a modified form ofthe invention, 25 represents a flexible sleeve adapted to be fittedtightly over the forefinger in the same manner as above described withreference to the first form of the invention. enlarged integral end 26serving as erasing material and in the end face of which a retainingsleeve 27 for a crayon 28 is tight fitted but which can be removed forreplacement with another crayon. In the lower portion of the thickenedportion, there is extended a pencil device 29 having a pencil point 30.The sleeve is weakened on the opposite sides thereof at 31' to provide adepressible portion 31 carrying the pencil device 29. This poition'ofchance of breakage to the pencil point 30 butwhen desired to make use ofthe pencil point 30, the outer end of the'finger is curled within thesleeve so astodepress a pressure plate surface 32 so as to cause thepencil 7 29 audits .point 30 to be extended downwardly andbutwardly asshown" in FIGS. 9 and 10 to make better its 1 use for writing andmorefree of 'the crayon 28. As the pressure of the end of the finger iseliminated the pencil 29 will be'retracted by virtue of the returnaction pf,

the weakened sleeve and-eraser material at 31.'

Secured to a rigid projection 33 on theupper partof the sleeve 25' andadjacent its open end thereof by means of pins 34 is a cutting blade 35,the pointed end of which may normally lie within a slotted guard portion36. As the finger is curled or flexed in the manner illustrated in 5FIGS. 2' and 3 the slotted guard portion 36 is drawn away from the endof the blade'35 to expose the sharp ened under edge thereof to render itaccessible for cut-1; ting action. As the finger is straightenedtheguard will be returned to the bladeso that the'bladewill again beprotected. It should now be apparent that there has, been proa As thefinger is again extended the cutting- This sleeve 25 has an retractableat times when not in use and to allow for the free use of the sleeve forerasing and cutting with the knife blade and to protect the pencil pointwhen the finger pencil is removed from the finger. a

While various changes may be'made in the detailed construction, it shallbe understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A finger knife comprising a flexible elasticsleeve adapted to tightlyfit around the forefinger, said sleeve being'of sutficient length toextend upwardly well beyond the second knuckle of the forefinger, oneend of a cutting blade secured to the outside surface of the up per partof said sleeve and adapted under the action of the flexing and curlingof the finger downwardly to have its cutting edge exposed and made readyfor use for cutting action, and a sheath for the blade mounted on theoutside surface of said sleeve to receive the blade when said sleeve isunfiexed and comprising a pair of spaced and parallel guard portions toreceive the blade therebetween.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

